The House of the Devil (2009)
The House of the Devil is a 2009 horror film written, directed, and edited by Ti West, starring Jocelin Donahue, Tom Noonan, and Mary Woronov. It combines elements of both the slasher film and haunted house sub-genres while using the "satanic panic" of the 1980s as a central plot element. The film pays homage to horror films of the 1970s and 1980s, recreating the style of films of that era using filming techniques and similar technology to what was used then. After her landlady (Dee Wallace) gives her an extension on the deposit for her new apartment, college student Samantha Hughes (Jocelin Donahue) takes on a babysitting job for Mr. Ulman (Tom Noonan) and his wife (Mary Woronov). Ulman asks to meet her but stands her up, later apologizing and offering to pay double the original salary. Samantha accepts and gets a ride to the remote mansion from her best friend, Megan (Greta Gerwig), who expresses her distrust. At the house, Mr. Ulman pulls her aside and reveals that he does not have any children; the babysitting job is to attend to his ailing mother. Samantha balks but finally agrees, if he will pay her $400, a significant increase in her pay. Megan immediately leaves, citing Ulman's lies and peculiar behavior, but she promises to pick up Samantha later. Samantha stays, after accepting the money. On the way home, Megan stops in her car to smoke a cigarette. When her car lighter will not work, a stranger (A.J. Bowen) suddenly appears out of nowhere, startling her, and lights her cigarette for her. When Megan reveals that she is not the babysitter hired by the Ulmans, she is abruptly shot and murdered by the stranger. After ordering a pizza, Samantha dances around the house whilst listening to her Walkman, accidentally breaking a vase in the process. Whilst cleaning up the mess, she discovers a cupboard filled with old family photographs, and draws a rash conclusion that Ulman has possibly murdered the original mansion owners and stolen their car. In a panic she dials 911 but eventually manages to calm herself down. The pizza is finally delivered by the stranger who had killed Megan. Drugs in the pizza cause Samantha to pass out just she discovers activity behind a door leading to the third floor. When she comes to, she finds that she has been bound and gagged in the center of a Pentagram. As a lunar eclipse darkens the night sky, Mr and Mrs Ulman, along with the stranger, who is actually their son Victor, begin a bizarre ritual. Mother (Danielle Noe) is revealed to be a grotesque, witch-like figure. As part of the ritual she slices her arm and pours the blood into a goat skull. She uses the blood to draw runes on Samantha's stomach and forehead, and forces Samantha to drink her blood from the skull. Samantha manages to escape halfway through the ritual, killing Mrs. Ulman and Victor, but horrific images begin appearing in her mind. Mr. Ulman chases her out of the house and through a nearby cemetery. There, he tells her she was chosen. Samantha threatens him with the gun used to kill Megan, but Ulman passively accepts his fate, claiming to be a messenger and gloating that she's too late. Instead of shooting him, she shoots herself in the head, to Ulman's horror. The scene cuts to a broadcast about the strange lunar eclipse the night before, which has confounded scientists due to its abrupt ending, as Samantha is revealed to be in a hospital bed, in bandages. A nurse walks in and pats the unconscious Samantha on the stomach, reassuring her that "You will be just fine. Both of you."